Yellowstone Trip - Day 3 - Yellowstone Park

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It poured rain all night, and we woke up to near freezing temperatures. It is grey and drizzling, but we dress in layers and venture out anyway. Elk were grazing right in front of the Mammoth Hot Springs hotel. Whee the bull was, rangers had the road blocked off so people couldn't get too close. Fall is their mating season, making them agressive and more likely to charge your car. We buy a hot drink to warm our hands, make a sandwich, and move on. Mammoth Hot Springs is one of the park's most active hydro-thermal areas. A huge underground magma chamber under the entire park provides the heat that fuels all of the hydro-thermal features. Water from rain and snow melt seeps deep into the earth and is heated by the magma (yes, I hear Dr. Evil saying "magma".. 😊. This hot water with dissolved carbon dioxide dissolves the calcium carbonate in the limestone. As it bubbles to the surface, the calcium carbonate is deposited in the formations we see in the terraces of Mammoth.

It is really cold, so we start back. We stop to look at a lake, and it starts to snow little pellets. Not rain, not really snow, but pellets. Steve says "Hey, it's raining rocks!" It is pretty, but it's damn cold, so we head back.

We have found out that, when you see lots of cars pulled off the side of the road, and people are out with their cameras and binoculars, you had better stop because there is something worth seeing. Sure enough, there is a bull moose just grazing in the stream just off the road. Thanks to the telephoto lens, I get a pretty good picture of him. We see him again the next day, lying down in the same area. He is next to an uprooted tree, and it is amazing how well his big rack blends in with his surroundings, looking very much like the roots of the tree!

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Photos

Bull Elk at Mammoth Hotel
Yes, he is real!